This study involved an in-depth floor space analysis of Cardozo Senior High School, and a review of design plans for a modernized McKinley Tech High School (both in Washington, DC), in order to prompt District of Columbia public schools to develop accurate measurements of useable (i.e., net) floor space, thereby allowing design standards flexible…

The authors provide a reference on how to set standards on tests in education, licensure, and certification. This book is comprehensive in scope, practical in nature, and definitive in terms of cataloguing the essential conceptual and procedural fundamentals of setting performance standards. It: (1) Offers a detailed description of procedures; (2)…

Judgmental standard setting methods, such as the W. H. Angoff (1971) method, use item performance estimates as the basis for determining the minimum passing score (MPS). Therefore, the accuracy of these item performance estimates is crucial to the validity of the resulting MPS. Recent researchers, (L. A. Shephard 1994; J. Impara, 1997) have called…

The kernel of the Angoff method of standard setting (W. Angoff, 1971) would seem to be the judgment of whether a minimally competent person could answer an item on a test correctly or not. So it would seem that any procedure that requires independent judgment of the correctness or incorrectness of a response to items for a minimally acceptable…

School districts and credentialing agencies use information gathered in standard setting studies to establish minimum passing scores (MPS) for a variety of purposes. These scores may be used to make decisions ranging from subject remediation to licensure. Multiple standard setting methods may be used to provide a range of scores to the…

Judgmental standard setting approaches rely on the perceptions of experts about examinee performance on a test. Traditional standard setting methods ask panelists to estimate how well a randomly selected hypothetical examinee who is representative of a well-defined target group, usually a minimally competent candidate (MCC), will perform on each…

This document contains the Arizona academic standards for Grade 1. The following 11 standards are reviewed: (1) The Arts Standards 1997 ? Foundations (Grades 1-3); (2) Comprehensive Health Standards 1997 ? Foundations (Grades 1-3); (3) Foreign and Native Language Standards 1997 ? Foundations (Grades 1-3); (4) Reading Standard Articulated by…

Compared simplified variations on the Angoff and Bookmark methods for setting cut scores on educational assessments with data from a grade 7 mathematics test (23 panelists in all). Although the Angoff method is more widely used, results show that the Bookmark method has some promising features. (SLD)

Examined a method of student self- and peer assessment involving student construction of grading criteria using exemplars. Found that the use of exemplars can help students demonstrate greater understanding of both grading criteria and subject standards, and that the use of exemplars forms a focus for meaningful formative feedback. (EV)

Eight essays regarding the debate over establishment of the doctoral degree as a requirement for entry-level school psychologists are presented. Critical issues facing the National Association of School Psychologists and the American Psychological Association are considered. (TJH)

Whether the measurement profession should consider developing and adopting a code of professional conduct is explored after a brief review of existing references to standards of conduct and a review of other professional codes. Issues include the need for a code of ethics, its usefulness, and its enforcement. (SLD)

Two studies of variations of the Angoff method (W. Angoff, 1971) involving nine elementary school teachers in each case compared a yes/no estimation with a proportion correct estimation for setting cut scores. Both methods yielded essentially equal cut scores, but judges found the yes/no method easier to implement. (SLD)

Examines criteria for choosing between test-centered and examinee-centered methods of standard setting in empirical terms and in terms of whether the method is consistent with the model of achievement underlying test design and interpretation and the assessment methods being used. Contains 35 references. (Author/SLD)

In cut score setting processes, subject matter experts are asked to make judgments about the likely performance of examinees at a targeted skill level. When cut scores are used in K-12 settings to separate students who have and have not mastered certain skills, the target examinee may be characterized as the barely proficient or barely master…

Standards-based score reports interpret test performance with reference to cut scores defining categories like "below basic," "proficient," or "master." This article first develops a conceptual framework for validity arguments supporting such interpretations, then presents three applications. Two of these serve to introduce new standard-setting…